A few months ago, I had the good luck to score a ticket to an intimate cooking demo led by The Splendid Table’s Lynne Rossetto Kasper. One of the many entertaining diatribes of the evening was the tale of how she learned to make beef daube. In this story she talked about how learning to make a single dish had taught her a number of valuable, greater lessons about food and cooking. And at the end of this 20-minute recollection, punctuated by a number of asides and distractions (including a pan of burnt eggs!), I was left with the desire to do two things: make beef daube and start my own food blog.
Throughout her story I recognized the joys and defeats of experimenting in the kitchen. The intense satisfaction of learning how ingredients react to different temperatures and cooking methods, how they can taste different when, say, sautéed slowly in cream as opposed to roasted at high heat. And the utter disappointment of capping off an hour-long prep session with a goof so big it renders all that work pointless. And all of it, the moments of triumph as well as deflation, consistently leaves me hungry for more. So I’ve spent the last few months collecting recipes I want to learn to make. Things that make my mouth water simply by reading their ingredient lists. And I got to cooking. I made breads, breakfast dishes, family-sized meals and snacks for one. But I couldn’t find the right recipe with which to launch this blog. I needed something appropriate for the season that also encompasses the aim of my blog: to learn how to cook new dishes, to learn more about cooking through each recipe I attempt, and to share all of it with readers.
So I found myself back at the daube. I couldn’t find a recipe by LRK herself, so I looked to a reliable source for an inaugural recipe that would knock my socks off. I bring you Daube Provencal from Cook’s Illustrated’s November 2005 issue. The perfect winter-weather dish with layers of complex flavors swimming in a rich and silky sauce that warms from deep within your soul. Bring an extra pair of socks to dinner.
Daube Provencal
From Cook’s Illustrated, November 2005 issue
Serves 4 to 6
Serve this French beef stew with egg noodles or boiled potatoes. If niçoise olives are not available, kalamata olives, though not authentic, can be substituted. Cabernet Sauvignon is our favorite wine for this recipe, but Côtes du Rhône and Zinfandel also work. Our favorite cut of beef for this recipe is chuck-eye roast, but any boneless roast from the chuck will work. Because the tomatoes are added just before serving, it is preferable to use canned whole tomatoes and dice them yourself–uncooked, they are more tender than canned diced tomatoes. Once the salt pork, thyme, and bay leaves are removed in step 4, the daube can be cooled and refrigerated in an airtight container for up to 4 days. Before reheating, skim the hardened fat from the surface, then continue with the recipe.
Ingredients:
3/4 oz dried porcini mushrooms, rinsed well
1 boneless beef chuckeye roast, trimmed of excess fat and cut into 2 inch chunks (about 3 1/2 lbs)
1 1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp ground black pepper
4 Tbsp olive oil
5 ounces salt pork, rind removed
4 large carrots, peeled and cut into 1 inch rounds (about 2 cups)
2 medium onions, halved and cut into 1/8 inch thick slices (about 4 cups)
4 medium garlic cloves, sliced thin
2 Tbsp tomato paste
1/3 cup all-purpose flour
1 (750 ml) bottle red wine (cabernet is suggested)
1 cup chicken broth
1 cup water
4 slices zest from 1 orange, removed with vegetable peeler, each strip about 3 inches long, cleaned of white pith, and cut lengthwise into strips
1 cup pitted nicoise olive, drained well (kalamata olives can be substituted)
3 anchovy fillets, minced (about 1 teaspoon)
5 sprigs thyme, tied together with kitchen twine
2 bay leaves
1 (14 1/2 oz) can whole tomatoes, drained and cut into 1/2 inch dice
2 Tbsp minced fresh parsley leaves
Directions:
Cover mushrooms with 1 cup hot tap water in small microwave-safe bowl; cover with plastic wrap, cut several steam vents in plastic with paring knife, and microwave on high power for 30 seconds. Let stand until mushrooms soften, about 5 minutes. Lift mushrooms from liquid with fork and chop into 1/2 inch pieces (you should have about 4 tablespoons). Strain liquid through fine-mesh strainer lined with 1 paper towel into medium bowl. Set mushrooms and liquid aside.
Adjust oven rack to lower-middle position; heat oven to 325 degrees. Dry beef thoroughly with paper towels, then season with salt and pepper. Heat 2 tablespoons oil in large heavy-bottomed Dutch oven over medium-high heat until shimmering but not smoking; add half of beef. Cook without moving pieces until well browned, about 2 minutes on each side, for total of 8 to 10 minutes, reducing heat if fat begins to smoke. Transfer meat to medium bowl. Repeat with remaining oil and remaining meat.
Reduce heat to medium and add salt pork, carrots, onions, garlic, and tomato paste to now empty pot; cook, stirring occasionally, until light brown, about 2 minutes. Stir in flour and cook, stirring constantly, about 1 minute. Slowly add wine, gently scraping pan bottom to loosen browned bits. Add broth, water, beef, and any juices in bowl. Increase heat to medium-high and bring to full simmer. Add mushrooms and their liquid, orange zest, 1/2 cup olives, anchovies, thyme, and bay, distributing evenly and arranging beef so it is completely covered by liquid; cover partially and place in oven. Cook until fork inserted in beef meets little resistance (meat should not be falling apart), 2 1/2 to 3 hours.
Discard salt pork, thyme, and bay leaves. Add tomatoes and remaining 1/2 cup olives; warm over medium-high heat until heated through, about 1 minute. Cover pot and allow stew to settle, about 5 minutes. Using spoon, skim excess fat from surface of stew. Stir in parsley and serve.
